Remnants and Other Ficlets
by Evedawalrus
Summary: (Also includes Avengers) 1. Remnants: Two minds. (Undertale, OC vaguely) 2. StevenTale: A gem falls. (SU, Undertale) 3. Reality: Fiction is. (Captain America, Real Life) 4. Grim: A gem died twice. (Steven Universe)


**Remnants**

The damage inflicted on the hallways was scary, so much dust scattered in the air that it was hard to breathe without keeling over. But they were determined to find her. The whisper in the back of their mind hinted at the possibilities- she had been here, at the center of the explosion of light and sound. They hadn't seen much other damage done, but the wave of force pushing them down frightened them nonetheless. She had to be there, to be okay.

She had to.

They glimpsed something curled in the corner. The large form was breathing heavily, ragged gasps giving an air of panic and distress. With a gasp and glance around the room, they dashed to her and slid to their knees. Their heart was beating like a grasshopper, just as fast as the thoughts racing through their head. Opening a dirty, dry mouth, they tried to say anything, just to signal to her that they were there. But before even a whimper could come out, the action died in their throat and their pupils shrank.

In the faint moonlight seeping through cracked windows, they could see pure white fur glistening. Hair covered large hands that were clamped to the thing's head, feral claws like fingernails digging into the sides of its scalp. Long white ears hid under the paws, but even more menacing were the curved horns ending in a sharp point, eliciting a gasp from them.

The noise triggered a reaction from the creature, and against all odds they were frozen to the spot. The being ceased its trembling. They could only watch as the beast raised a monstrous face from its violet dress, knees bent on the floor. They felt their lip drop ever so slightly involuntarily.

The animal had the face resembling that of a goat, but their features were done how softer. Two small fangs stuck out from their upper jaw, petite nostrils hidden by white fur. Grey tracks ran down their cheeks, unnoticed by them because they were focused on its eyes.

The monster's eyes were extraordinary. Huge pupils filled with so much emotion they felt like they could dive into them. The colors were even stranger. The left's iris was a harsh red, but not unfriendly or cold. The right was…

Their throat somehow went even drier.

It was that familiar shade of blue, sea foam green surrounding the pupil. That familiar shine and mix of color, the ones they had seen for the past nine months every time they woke up.

The eyes were both squinted as tears bubbled from them, and the monster(?) took in a shuddering gasp. There was realization in that breath, and on its exhale the being made a noise, a whimper of pain that filled the dusty room.

They knew. Their mind just didn't want to catch up.

She convulsed suddenly, a spasm that sent her back into hyperventilation. The red eye was going wild, but the sea foam one stayed locked on them. One side of her mouth twitched, and through the frantic breaths they heard a plea.

"Help..

Me..."

 **StevenTale**

Steven falls into the darkness.

Steven woke with a gasp, his heart pumping into overdrive as sweat covered his skin. He had.. He had fell down that endless hole, Connie screaming after him..

Connie.

Bolting up, he steadied his feet, surveying the environment around him. Above he could see the tiniest blot of white, but it was so far away. The cavern around him was shrouded in shadow, only a bed of perky yellow flowers below him showed color. Glancing about at the walls, he knew that he couldn't climb up. Connie would surely go get the gems, but how would they get down here? Such a tremendous fall could hurt even Garnet..

It was decided. "Guess I just gotta go deeper.."

So Steven walked through the cave to find-

In front of him, sprouting from a little green patch of grass, was a butter yellow flower.

It was looking at him and smiling.

Steven was a bit unnerved by this, but it seemed so friendly.. Still, he jumped when it spoke.

"Hi! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" Its voice was incredibly perky, almost oozing happiness. "Golly, you must be new to the Underground, huh? You must be so confused.."

Steven smiled widely. "Uh, yeah I am! I'm Steven, nice to meet you, Flowey!"

The blossom beamed. "Hiya Steven! Well, it looks like someone should teach how things work around here. Guess little old me'll have to do!"

"Really? Thanks, Flowey!" Steven couldn't believe how kind this creature was being to him. In a small part of him, there was a whisper of suspicion, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the desire to have someone friendly in this scary situation.

Suddenly, Steven felt a pulling sensation, and a red heart tinged with pink rose from his chest. The heart felt… Well, it felt like him. It felt like all of his hope and joy and love, pressed into a simple shape.

"That's your SOUL, the culmination of your very being!"

His SOUL was warm in his hands, and at that moment Steven wanted to do nothing more that hug it tightly and fall asleep. But unfortunately he had learning to do right now.

"Your SOUL starts off weak, but it can grow strong through gaining LV."

"What's EL-VEE?" The gem stretched out the letters.

"Why, LOVE, of course!" The flower exclaimed. This was turning out amazingly, Steven decided, and patiently waited to hear more from Flowey.

"You can get LOVE through," For a split second, the being's eyes shifted, looking almost sinister, before switching back to the eager child. "'Friendliness pellets'!" Then, spinning white ovals sprung into the air behind Flowey, forming a half circle.

Steven, while joyful, was not stupid, and felt a hint of uneasiness creep in. But of course his fear of this new environment and desire for a companion once more overpowered these warnings.

"Here, I'll share some with you! Go on, gather as many as you can!" The pellets suddenly hurtled towards Steven, or more accurately, his SOUL. The half-human child spread his arms out, full of eagerness to accept some of these "friendliness pellets" from his new friend-

Pain shot like a spear through him, tendrils snaking up his nerves. Tears gathered in his eyes as he cried out, a hand clamped against his SOUL, which was feeling frighteningly fragile.

"You IDIOT." The sickly-sweet voice twisted its way around him, driving the pain in all the more. "Did you really think I wouldn't take up an opportunity like THIS?"

Wiping away the tears with his free hand, Steven gasped. Flowey's face has morphed from a simple smile to a demonic grin, eerie white pupils shining from black sockets. A cacophonous cackle filled the cavern, like a child's ecstatic giggle.

"In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED. Now…"

The gem's body was wracked with pain to the point where it was hard to stand, and all he could do was watch as the so-called "friendliness pellets" formed a circle around him, blocking any chance of escape. The once-perky flower grinned, a gleeful laugh echoing in his ears.

"DIE."

The bullets began to approach, and Steven's thoughts flashed through memories. Connie, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl.. Would he never see them again? The bullets grew closer yet. Lapis.. Would she be trapped forever? The pellets wrapped around him, seconds from striking his cracked SOUL.

Rose….

Mom?

There was a tremendous flash of magenta, and the bullets were vaporized inches from Steven's skin. A curving pink bubble materialized around the frail heart and with a pulse of power, expanded like an explosion. Flowey squeaking with shock as the bubble threw him off into the darkness.

Then there was silence.

Steven lay on the stone floor, cooling his feverish skin. Flowey had vanished, but his SOUL still ached, even as he hugged it close to his chest.

Minutes passed, and the gem only breathed, focusing on the air moving in and out of his lungs.

Then, there was a sound. Faint footsteps that grew closer and louder, out from behind a wall and- there was a shocked gasp, the footsteps quickening into a run.

Steven was in a daze, eyes glazed over and blurred with tears. Through the fog, he could see a large white shape bending over him, arms outstretched. Hands.. No, paws came into focus, white fur soft on his skin as the being brushed a finger to his wrist. The creature gave a sight of relief, and the paws drew close to his SOUL. Steven twitched, but couldn't run.

Suddenly, the agony twisting through him disappeared, as if it was simply yanked from his body. Now significantly more clear minded, Steven could see the person that had done this.

Kneeled beside his reclining form sat a furry white beast. Their head resembled that of a goat, long ears and small horns poking from their head. Unlike the common animal, they possessed two petite fangs poking from their upper lip, along with expressive, intelligent eyes that were crinkled with worry. The being wore a strange dress of some kind, blank sleeves and a purple body with an unfamiliar symbol emblazoned on it.

Steven stopped.

Then he yelled. "D-Don't touch me!"

He scrambled back to the surprise of the monster, who gazed at him with a newfound sadness.

"Please do not be afraid, my child. I am TORIEL, caretaker of the ruins." So this.. person was named Toriel. Her voice was old and soft, a drastic change from the high-pitched squeal of Flowey the flower. She seemed.. kind.

But Steven stayed wary. The first thing he had met tricked him, so who could say this one wouldn't? The goat-monster, Toriel, raised her paws as if to show she was unarmed.

"I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down." Steven breathed heavily, watching her as she stood. Oh gosh, she was tall. The human shakily raised himself to his feet, not to be dwarfed. Well, not too much. Toriel was around the size of Garnet, the thought popped into his head.

"Please, child, I mean you no harm. I healed your wounds, as they were very grave."

Steven blinked and glanced to his SOUL to see the small cracks that had formed were now gone, pain completely erased. It was true...

"Come. I can help, I will guide you through the ruins." Toriel stretched out a huge hand with hope reflecting in her eyes. Steven stared at it, deep in thought. Could he trust this Goat-monster? He couldn't help but feel a warmness to her, something unknown but longed for.

Steven placed his pale hand into the pillowy paw of Toriel, and smiled at her. Together, they entered the Ruins.

 **Reality**

There he was.

A skin tight shirt outlining muscles, blond hair combed over his scalp, and baby blue eyes staring directly down at me.

My throat was dry.

"Are you.." I dragged the words from my throat. This was it. This would be the final piece and nail in the coffin. My palms were sweaty, and I bit the inside of my cheek. "Steve Rogers?"

"Are you Captain America?"

The man I didn't know the name of blinked, an expression of confusion filling his eyes. I didn't know if that was good or bad, and it scared me. The bridge of his nose wrinkled, and his chest expanded with a deep breath. His lips parted.

I couldn't breathe.

"Er, yes. I am, miss."

Oh god.

The air in my lungs felt stale and sharp, biting at my insides. If I had eaten anything before, it would be gone; but now my stomach ached like I hadn't eaten in days.

I took a step back, my mouth trying to keep my tongue from shriveling up. Suddenly I could feel the drops of sweat trickling down my forehead, and my arm twitched. My instincts told me to wipe them away and finger comb my hair, but my muscles seemed frozen.

I don't remember what my mind went through in that time. I don't know how to describe it, and I don't think I or anyone else can. It only existed in that moment. But as the only descriptive things I could say about every decision and thought I made then is that it was autopilot.

Or in shock.

My back touched the wall, giving the signal to my trembling legs to drop.

He was probably staring at me. What a strange girl. He had a lot of questions, most likely. He disrupted the silence.

"Miss, how do you know-"

"Steven Grant Rogers. Orphan at a young age, often lived with his best friend. Weak. Didn't like bullies." I don't remember cutting him off.

"Noticed. Changed. Strong. Seen as a fake. He proved them wrong." The words didn't stop. I didn't know what I was trying to do.

He watched, sky blue eyes becoming just as wide.

"Fought. Laughed. Worked. Marched. Loved."

"A train."

There was a chill in the air.

"It broke and so did he. Stars and red bones. The Stork Club. Ice."

My voice was monotone. My eyes were clouded.

"Always out of time..."

Brown irises met blue. His face was pale, lips slightly ajar. He didn't know what to think and neither did I.

"A fighter and a lover and a patriot and a hero..."

My eyelids felt heavy.

"And a character in a comic book."

Everything faded.

The man sat alone in the whitewashed room. There was a lump in his throat that he couldn't get rid of, but at the moment he didn't seem to care. His mind was in confusion and his eyes unfocused, staring at the floor. A hand held his jaw, elbow on the arm of his chair. He was still in his civilian clothes.

The heart monitor beeped periodically, and though it had long since turned into background noise, his ears subconsciously monitored the steady beat. At the moment, all he could do was think. A storm clouded his mind, causing him to think all sorts of outlandish things he immediately dismissed. Or, well, told himself that he did. He wanted many things. His shield. Someone from there. Answers, definitely.

He wanted her to wake up.

The heart rate monitor beeped out of tune, and his baby blue eyes immediately drew into focus. They glanced up to see the girl's chest lift higher than before. Her eyelids fluttered, but stayed closed.

She was awake, but it wouldn't be any good to make her get up. The storm started up once more, now wondering what the pale girl in the hospital bed could possibly be thinking. It wouldn't do any good.

He would just have to wait.

 **Grim**

A scream.

The cold was too intense. He tried so desperately to reach for them, but the swirling winds in the pillar of light had blown him so far out, they quickly became specks in the distance. And like that, they were gone. He tried to cry out, but the frost made his lips sluggish. And it was only getting colder. The air seemed to push against him, stealing the breath from his lungs.

He couldn't breathe.

Struggling wildly, he flailed his legs in a panic, fruitlessly trying to do something, anything,

But he could only watch as darkness tainted history vision, the beam of light so far away. This was it. Lost, separated from his family. His limbs stilled, letting the empty nothingness take his life away.

Something appeared in his view.

A soft pink glow, just barely leaking into his field of vision.

Then, the darkness enveloped him.

Pearl was crying.

They hadn't listened, no, she hadn't listened.

And now Steven was gone. Rose was gone.

And it was all her fault.

He said he had seen something in the warp streams, but she didn't listen to him. She doubted him, told herself that he had just blinked. He was human, after all. He was...

flawed.

The word cut into her skin, taking its place among the brands burned into her pale flesh. Broken. Defect. They had always been there, always marring the face doomed to never be perfect. Like the others. She wished she were like them, even now. Pearls did not feel sorrow. Pearls didn't cry.

Flawed.

She hated humans, she told herself every day. She hated their look and their customs and their, their-... There was always a voice in the back of her mind, that always whispered the truth no matter how much she wanted to forget it.

You are like them. You know it to be true, and you can't change it.

She tried to muffle the voice.

Pearl was alone.

Part of her ached so badly, it felt worse than a stab through the gut. She hadn't felt as bad as this since-

...Since Rose.

Pearl let out a muffled sob into the blankets. Breathing in the stuffy air, the oxygen filled her shapeshifted lungs. Her legs drew close to her chest, knees pulled close to her form. Under the covers she tried to find that essence of the child that had slept in there barely a day ago. A shred of him, beautiful him still remained, and Pearl took it all in.

She remembered watching him sleep so many nights. She didn't really need rest, and she never liked being alone for too long. The gem liked watching the half-gem child's chest move up and down in regular intervals, rising and falling. Sometimes she subconsciously copied him, mimicking the breathing with her own.

Steven looked so content when he slept, as if everything was right in the world and he knew it. Pearl knew she would never really know that feeling; but when she watched the smile curve across his cheeks, she felt that for a second she almost could.

Pearl had hurt so much when Rose was gone.

She acted like she had been dead when she wasn't.

Every time Steven smiled at her, hugged her, simply been there and himself, she saw nothing but Rose. Rose was there.

This time neither of them would ever smile again.

As Pearl lay in the darkness, she didn't care about the fusion silently watching from the room below.

She didn't care about anything anymore.

Her stomach hurt.

Funny.

She didn't need to have one. But it still ached.

She was at the Kindergarten. Pearl would have told her not to go there, but she was wrapped up in his bed. Amethyst didn't want to hear the muffled sobs. She just walked out the door.

Amethyst didn't know if hawks could cry. She wanted to be one. It would make things much easier.

Now she sat, rock walls pressing against her. Her hole was so small compared to the others beside it, but she didn't have time to look before sliding inside. Didn't want to anyway.

Sure enough she still fit. The stone surrounding her was cool to the touch. Like space…

Her voice was a whisper, a soft no.

Somehow it echoed in the empty graveyard.

She curled in on herself, wishing to be the violet stone encased in earth. No thought or feeling.

Just sleep.

She inhaled.

Amethyst didn't do well with emotions, no.

No she did not.


End file.
